The Future of Work in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abdychev, Aidar; Alonso, Cristian; Alper, Emre; Desruelle, Dominique; Kothari, Siddharth; Liu, Yun; Perinet, Mathilde; Rehman, Sidra; Schimmelpfennig, Axel; Sharma, Preya

doi:10.5089/9781484383094.087

Cited by 16 publications

(20 citation statements)

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“…Thus, the often mentioned 'youth employment crisis' in Africa is more a problem of underemployment rather than unemployment in most subregions. 5 This is in line with analysis of the labour market in sub-Saharan Africa by Abdychev et al (2018).…”

Section: Labour Force Dynamicssupporting

confidence: 72%

“…On a positive note, Abdychev et al (2018) mention that it will be more likely that technological change in sub-Saharan Africa complements labour rather than to completely substitute it. Sub-Saharan Africa as a region has the potential to gain because it has lower wages (due to low productivity and large youth cohort in labour force) and that makes it more profitable to invest in technology that complements relatively cheap labour.…”

Section: Technological Change Education Savings and Open Marketsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sub-Saharan Africa as a region has the potential to gain because it has lower wages (due to low productivity and large youth cohort in labour force) and that makes it more profitable to invest in technology that complements relatively cheap labour. The relevance of technology as a substitute to large numbers of the African labour force would only be beneficial for high wage sections of the labour force (Abdychev et al, 2018). In the scenario that technological change indeed complements labour, productivity growth could result in higher real wages and better work conditions, also increasing the overall labour share, which is important to absorb new entrants to the labour market (Abdychev et al, 2018).…”

Section: Technological Change Education Savings and Open Marketsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Link Between Demography and Labour Markets in sub-Saharan Africa

Quak¹

2020

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This rapid review synthesises the literature from academic, policy, and knowledge institution sources on how demography affects labour markets (e.g. entrants, including youth and women) and labour market outcomes (e.g. capital-per-worker, life-cycle labour supply, human capital investments) in the context of sub-Saharan Africa. One of the key findings is that the fast-growing population in sub-Saharan Africa is likely to affect the ability to get productive jobs and in turn economic growth. This normally happens when workers move from traditional (low productivity agriculture and household businesses) sectors into higher productivity sectors in manufacturing and services. In theory the literature shows that lower dependency ratios (share of the non-working age population) should increase output per capita if labour force participation rates among the working age population remain unchanged. If output per worker stays constant, then a decline in dependency ratio would lead to a rise in income per capita. Macro simulation models for sub-Saharan Africa estimate that capital per worker will remain low due to consistently low savings for at least the next decades, even in the low fertility scenario. Sub-Saharan African countries seem too poor for a quick rise in savings. As such, it is unlikely that a lower dependency ratio will initiate a dramatic increase in labour productivity. The literature notes the gender implications on labour markets. Most women combine unpaid care for children with informal and low productive work in agriculture or family enterprises. Large family sizes reduce their productive labour years significantly, estimated at a reduction of 1.9 years of productive participation per woman for each child, that complicates their move into more productive work (if available). If the transition from high fertility to low fertility is permanent and can be established in a relatively short-term period, there are long-run effects on female labour participation, and the gains in income per capita will be permanent. As such from the literature it is clear that the effect of higher female wages on female labour participation works to a large extent through reductions in fertility.

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Section: Labour Force Dynamicssupporting

confidence: 72%

Section: Technological Change Education Savings and Open Marketsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Technological Change Education Savings and Open Marketsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Link Between Demography and Labour Markets in sub-Saharan Africa

Quak¹

2020

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“…To create a sufficient number of jobs for its booming population, SSA has to fully exploit the opportunities from the Fourth Industrial Revolution, by bridging what has been termed the global Digital Divide. 2 Empirical evidence suggests that if there is an adequate digital infrastructure and a supportive business environment, new forms of business will flourish, providing employment opportunities for the educated as well as the less educated. 3 At the same time, changes in technology-along with climate change and global economic integration-will have an important bearing on growth and employment (IMF, 2018).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such maps for the rest of SSA countries is available in the Online Appendix 2. The colors in the map denote the boundaries of the administrative areas.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Bridging the Mobile Digital Divide in Sub-Saharan Africa

Alper¹,

Miktus²

2019

IMF Working Papers

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Digital connectivity, including through the modern cellular network technologies, is expected to play a key role for the Future of Work in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We estimate the cost of introducing a full-scale 4G network by 2025 in SSA and an operable 5G network by 2040. We adapt the costing model of Lombardo (2019) by accounting for the significant demographic transformation and rapid urbanization in SSA. We use the WorldPop and GADM databases and the UN’s medium-variant population projections to project the population densities at the highest level of administrative division for each SSA country in 2025 and 2040. For full 4G connectivity, the required capital and operational costs stands approximately at US$14 billion by 2025 and for 5G connectivity, costs amount to US$57 billion in 2040, conditional on having the 4G in place by 2025. These costs roughly translate to 8.4 percent of annual subscriber income, on a median basis, by 2025 for 4G and 4.9 percent of subscriber income by 2040 for 5G. Having the infrastructure in place is not sufficient to bridge the mobile Digital Divide. In addition, policies are needed to address affordability and knowledge gaps.

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Beyond hunger: Unveiling the rights to food in sub‐Saharan Africa

Onyeaka,

Adeboye,

Bamidele

et al. 2024

Food and Energy Security

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This article explores the fundamental right to food, examining its legal framework, its relationship with other human rights, and the efforts being made globally to improve this right. It begins by looking at international and national laws that protect the right to food and examining their importance in ensuring food security and sovereignty. It then explores how food rights intersect with other rights, such as health, education, and labor, revealing the interrelated web of human rights. The article further highlights how the right to food is closely tied to the objectives of reducing poverty and promoting social justice, which are crucial components in the collective effort to achieve food security for all. Additionally, it evaluates the effectiveness of current policies and strategies in promoting the right to food, particularly in sub‐Saharan Africa. The novelty of the article is that it brings into perspective, the encumbrance of food sovereignty in sub‐Saharan Africa and concludes with potential solutions.

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The Future of Work in Sub-Saharan Africa

Cited by 16 publications

References 1 publication

The Link Between Demography and Labour Markets in sub-Saharan Africa

The Link Between Demography and Labour Markets in sub-Saharan Africa

Bridging the Mobile Digital Divide in Sub-Saharan Africa

Beyond hunger: Unveiling the rights to food in sub‐Saharan Africa

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